Given the recent interest in Twitter from the local media, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at which of the organizations are on Twitter and how they use it. Back in November I wrote about local news organizations and their use of social media. At that time, only the Edmonton Journal and iNews880 were on Twitter.
Things have definitely changed!
Here are the local news organizations (and their representatives) I know about on Twitter (numbers retrieved on 3/3/2009 at 12:30 AM):
- Edmonton Journal – @EdmontonJournal
Joined: August 7th, 2008
Followers: 434
Following: 1
Usage: Broadcast using twitterfeed. No replies.
Others: @EdmJrnlCitydesk, @KerryPowell, @taudette, @archiemc, @jenfong, @Sperounes, @lizwithey, @ryan_jackson, @babiak - CTV Edmonton – @ctvedmonton
Joined: February 13th, 2009
Followers: 724
Following: 0
Usage: Broadcast using twitterfeed. Broadcast posted manually. No replies.
Others: @carriedoll, @darylmcintyre, @joshclassen, @JoelGotlib, @robbywilliams, @ErinIsfeld, @davidjamesgreen - Global Edmonton – @globaledmonton
Joined: February 18th, 2009
Followers: 90
Following: 2
Usage: Broadcast, looks manual. No links even.
Others: @lyndasteele, @JenCrosby - CBC Edmonton – @cbcedmonton
Joined: January 14th, 2009
Followers: 311
Following: 0
Usage: Broadcast using twitterfeed. No replies.
Others: ? - iNews880 – @iNews880
Joined: October 19th, 2008
Followers: 194
Following: 212
Usage: Broadcast using twitterfeed. Occasional replies.
Others: @britl, @Korinda, @SimonOstler, @TheSpinDoctor, @NixonK, @Persepolian, @morgoid, @scott_lilwall, @dantencer, @scottybomb - Metro Edmonton – @metroedmonton
Joined: February 18th, 2009
Followers: 36
Following: 5
Usage: Broadcast using twitterfeed. No replies.
Others: ? - SONiC 102.9 FM – @sonic1029
Joined: November 17th, 2008
Followers: 453
Following: 65
Usage: Manual broadcast, no replies.
Others: @garnerandrews, @sonicpd, @Liann_Cameron, @BryceKelley - 92.5 JOE FM – @JOEFM
Joined: January 25th, 2008
Followers: 25
Following: 11
Usage: Manual broadcast, a couple replies.
Others: ? - K97 FM – @K97
Joined: February 18th, 2009
Followers: 18
Following: 1
Usage: Manual broadcast, no replies.
Others: @TBSonK97, @jeffonk97 - The Gateway – @The_Gateway
Joined: January 12th, 2009
Followers: 103
Following: 26
Usage: Manual broadcast, no replies.
Others: @lucaswagner, @mikethegreat, @kirstengoruk, @chudleighvotes - CJSR FM 88 – @CJSR
Joined: December 7th, 2008
Followers: 38
Following: 1
Usage: Haven’t really updated.
Others: @thecolinium - 96.3 Capital FM – @capitalfm
Joined: October 18th, 2008
Followers: 43
Following: 0
Usage: Broadcast updates through txt, no links or replies.
Others: ?
Which media organizations are missing? Lots:
- Edmonton Sun
- CityTV Edmonton – though there are @axfergie, @meagankelly, and @KMPhotographer
- Edmonton Examiner
- Vue Weekly – I setup a placeholder account: @vueweekly
- SEE Magazine
- Avenue Edmonton
- 24 Hours
- 630 CHED – there is a placeholder account, @630CHED, but their efforts are focused on the iNews880 account
- CKUA – though there is @kevinckua
- Most other radio stations: Team 1260, 91.7 The Bounce, 96.3 Capital FM (added above), EZ Rock 104.9, CISN Country 103.9, 100.3 The Bear, Magic 99, etc.
- Edmontonians Magazine
- Venture Publishing magazines (maybe) – though there is @VentureMags, @RachelatVenture and @RuthatVenture
From this we can identify a few trends:
- Most accounts were only recently created, and there are still lots of organizations not yet on Twitter.
- Most of the active accounts are updated automatically using twitterfeed.
- Most organizations have an “official” account that is treated like a bot, and employees have the more personal, interactive accounts.
- Most accounts don’t follow back. The one notable exception is @iNews880.
I’m not sure how long I’ll wait before revisiting this list, but I’m pretty sure the number of local media organizations using Twitter will continue to increase. There’s definitely some concern in the community that by simply broadcasting, the local media aren’t using Twitter as effectively as they could be. I still think there’s value in having them on Twitter though.
UPDATE (3/5/2009): Very quickly others are joining! Here’s 91.7 The Bounce: @917thebounce, @onair1980, @carlykincaid
MasterMaq's Blog 
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Actually Maq,
24 Hours has a twitter account:
Great round up though…
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Mack… you “suppose it counts”. Did our talk yesterday mean nothing? 😦
Also, our sister station 630CHED will probably not being coming on, as a strong majority of the demographic aren’t Twitter users… a lot of them don’t use the internet.
So iNews880 will fill that gap, and can answer any questions or comments or criticism in lieu of 630CHED.
Jay – that’s not an Edmonton-specific account.
Brit – I know what you told me, and that makes sense, but aside from you saying it to a few people in person, that’s not communicated. Others will ask where 630CHED is because it’s the more well-known brand!
Add @TheNuggetOnline
Haven’t done much with it really, but hoping that others in the staff will catch on and write.
Others: @GuitarKat
Thanks! 😀
Mack, you also missed @kamazonka who is a columnist with the Edmonton Sun and an editor with Alberta Oil, from Venture Publishing.
I think there’s plenty of room for the official media corporate account to function as a newswire with individual reporters Twittering however they’d like.
In defense of the reporters, I think it would be wise to keep in mind that their newsrooms are being consistently whittled down. Those reporters are working their butts off to keep up and look good so they may not be one of the next cuts.
So, if those reporters don’t Tweet as much as we’d like, it’s probably because they’re too busy covering the news we comment on and blog about. 🙂
Plus NAIT’s radio and television programs are on as well: @naitnewswatch & @nr92 They are managed by @radiohound & @jeannettelabrie respectively.